It-facilitated adaptive-organizational-learning in subsidiaries of multinational pharmaceutical corporations in Thailand

Abstract

Organizational learning has been increasingly interested as the management tool, and information technology has been widely used as the essential facilities for management in the borderless global businesses. This study applied the theories of organizational learning and information technology to the relationship of organizational learning process, information technology, and organizational learning capabilities. The research aimed to study the impacts of information technology and organizational learning process on organizational learning capabilities in Thai subsidiaries of pharmaceutical multinational corporations. The pharmaceutical industry, which was classified as knowledge intensive industry, was appropriately chosen to study IT-facilitated organizational learning in the context of marketing technology transfer from the head-office to the subsidiaries. The triangulation concept of combined two methods of data collection, the quasi-experimentation and the survey, was implemented to enhance the validity of the research. The quasi-experimentation was performed with the subjects of middle-managers exposed to treatment of organizational learning tools (web-based training or online-computer based training). The survey was conducted after finishing quasi-experimentation with the subjects of top-executives in the same companies. Response rates from the two methods were 82-87% with 21 companies rejected to continue the research project. Data analysis included factor analysis, MANOVA, and canonical correlation analysis. Results of this study support the hypothesis that information technology positively impacts on organizational learning capabilities. Moreover, the results also partially support the hypothesis that organizational learning process positively impacts on organizational learning capabilities. The results of this research help develop better knowledge of relationship among information technology and organizational learning components, and also facilitate Thai and global companies in improving their organizational learning capabilities.